Illusion Dream

As his combat boots trod across the marshland, Lu Yan'an's figure did not tremble in the slightest, moving as if he were walking on flat ground. This was the level of control only a warrior who had pushed the mobilization of his own power to the peak could possess.

He walked through the swamp with an open stride, making no attempt to conceal his tracks.

He had heard before that even the most formidable experts feared being swarmed—being besieged by tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of peers. Once caught in such a quagmire, no matter how much of a genius you were, you would eventually meet your end in regret!

It sounded like a very logical argument, but Lu Yan'an simply did not believe it. In the world of Swallowed Star, when an individual was truly a genius to a certain degree, having more peers surround them was merely serving them food! The amount he consumed might not even be as much as he recovered.

Behind him, a golden blade wheel flashed like a streak of light, slicing through the canopy of an ancient tree. The blade was stained with blood as it streaked straight toward Lu Yan'an's head.

At this moment, Lu Yan'an halted his forward momentum. A ripple of illusionary energy surged from his body, and his Illusion Domain swept outward, directly enveloping the controller who had launched the sneak attack. How fast could the coverage of mental energy be? Lu Yan'an's secret technique provided the answer. The moment before the golden blade wheel was about to strike him, the controller lost consciousness!

Although the light wheel had lost its master, it continued to slash toward Lu Yan'an out of pure inertia. At the critical moment, Lu Yan'an tilted his head slightly, dodging the attack. He did not stop, continuing to walk forward as if nothing had happened. This was not the first time he had been subjected to such harassment.

I'll spend a few days walking to the center of this forest, then wait there like a hunter waiting for a rabbit, Lu Yan'an thought to himself. That way, I can let the powerhouses of this World Area work for me for free.

The quagmires, swamps, and forests here were filled with danger; without sufficient strength, one could never reach the center of the forest. Moreover, if any powerhouse were to sweep through the area, the center was a destination they would inevitably visit! By camping in the center of the forest swamp for ten days, he could passively sweep up the points of all the powerhouses in this World Area, giving him a chance to compete for the first-place ranking.

The first-place winner of a World Area could skip the arena battles and enter the top one thousand of the Ganwu Universe Country directly.

With his current strength, participating in the round-robin arena battles was a complete waste of life and utterly meaningless. With these few years of time, he was confident he could raise his level of law comprehension by another tier!

Three days later.

"Everyone, you must have heard, right? A formidable enemy nicknamed 'Nightmare' has appeared in our World Area 44. His ranking is extremely high, so I propose that we all join forces and use human-wave tactics to eliminate this guy."

A youth dressed in blue combat armor spoke up.

"We all know his strength well enough; in a one-on-one situation, none of us would survive! But there are nearly fifty experts here; if we all strike together, we can naturally go toe-to-toe with him!"

"He is far too arrogant, occupying the center of the forest in World Area 44 and looking down on everyone else."

"Besides, if we don't deal with him now, it will inevitably affect our rankings in the World Area. You wouldn't want someone else riding on your heads, would you?"

Standing before the blue-clad youth were over forty figures. Most were lone wolves, though a few had friendships and stood in small groups of two or three. These people, with their diverse physiques and racial traits, were all linked together by this blue-clad youth!

These nearly fifty people all possessed their own unique specialties. To have survived the initial chaotic period in World Area 44, whether through luck or actual talent, they could be considered outstanding; the weakest among them was still a top-ranked genius from some star system.

On this trip, their sole purpose was to kill Lu Yan'an, who had made a name for himself in World Area 44 with the arrogant title of "Nightmare."

After the youth finished speaking, they pondered for a moment before expressing their stances.

"Agreed."

"Count me in!"

"I've never seen such an arrogant guy!"

Opinions varied, but the core consensus was to join forces.

Just as they reached an agreement, suddenly—

A streak of black lightning darted rapidly through the bushes.

In an instant, it approached and revealed its form.

The newcomer wore gray-black armor, carried a long spear on his back, and was surrounded by an aura of wind elemental energy.

The person who arrived was the powerhouse of World Area 44 known as "Illusion Dream."

"Yo, are you all planning to make a move on 'Nightmare'?" he asked with a calm expression.

"Indeed, that is the case." The blue-clad youth didn't know how the news had reached the ears of this great god, so he dared not be the least bit negligent in his speech.

Illusion Dream nodded: "In that case, I haven't come to the wrong place!"

As he spoke, a faint cyan wind elemental energy surged around Illusion Dream, and his domain suddenly enveloped everyone present!

"Illusion Dream, you..." The blue-clad youth wore an expression of disbelief; he could not understand why Illusion Dream would suddenly launch a lethal attack on their group.

Thirty seconds later, the domain dissipated, leaving behind nearly fifty corpses.

"A bunch of trash like this actually wanted to rely on human-wave tactics to pile up and kill an illusionist? Tsk tsk, I feel like my intervention was redundant." After speaking, Illusion Dream shook his head and turned to leap into a tree. "It's rare for that guy Nightmare to build a reputation for our illusionist lineage, and yet you dared to discuss how to surround and suppress another illusionist right in front of one? You have quite the nerve!"

"It's not the time yet, but just wait. Nightmare, when the end comes, there will eventually be a battle between us!"

In the luxurious and vast hall of a space cruiser.

Thousands of people sat here; they were the true ruling class of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire. Although the "Universe Human—Peak Genius Tournament" was the first grand event held by the Virtual Universe Company for all universe countries, the pressure from the upper echelons inevitably trickled down to the grassroots execution. Therefore, the participants from each star sector represented not only themselves but also the face and honor of their respective empires.

Even the Emperor of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire was paying close attention.

"Hahaha..." The Emperor of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, dressed in dark black imperial robes, let out a hearty laugh that echoed throughout the hall.

At the very front of the hall was a giant screen displaying the preliminary qualification list for the Black Dragon Mountain Empire (temporary): 1, followed by the name of Lu Yan'an.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty."

"This young talent named Lu Yan'an surged into the top one thousand on the seventh day after entering World Area 44. And it's only the seventh day!"

"The citizens of my Black Dragon Mountain Empire are currently feeling incredibly inspired, excited, and proud!"

One dignitary after another flattered the Emperor, and other nobles echoed their sentiments. This was the empire's own noble class, including World Lords, Domain Lords, and the emperors of over five hundred primary civilization countries under the jurisdiction of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire.

The Emperor felt even more gratified.

"Very good, very good."

"To be able to reach a qualifying rank by the seventh day shows that he truly possesses such strength. As long as his luck isn't too terrible, passing the preliminary selection should be no problem."

"Our Black Dragon Mountain Empire will finally not return empty-handed in this first Genius Tournament!"

The emperor laughed heartily and said in a booming voice, "My lords, drink with me."

He raised his wine cup, and the nobles below responded by raising their own cups, creating a lively scene for a moment.

Suddenly—

Beside the emperor, a seemingly refined old man received an email, his brows furrowing as he didn't know what to do.

The emperor glanced at him, noticed his abnormality, and asked softly, "What happened?"

"Your Majesty, the people we sent out have already discovered the location of Lu Yan'an in World Area 44 and have been observing his situation, but... his situation is very dangerous."

"Oh?" The emperor's gaze sharpened.

It is one thing for Lu Yan'an to have the strength to pass the preliminary selection, but if he encounters an overly powerful opponent this early, the final result will naturally be elimination all the same.

"According to the news received, forty-seven people are preparing to besiege Lu Yan'an, and the weakest among them are all ranked in the top ten thousand of the world area!"

"However, their conspiracy was interrupted by a genius known as 'Meng Huan', and they were completely wiped out!"

"Hahahaha, isn't this good news? Even the heavens are helping this Lu Yan'an," the emperor said somewhat dismissively.

"But, the target of this 'Illusion Dream' is also Lu Yan'an! And according to intelligence, he is not only a genius illusionist but has even comprehended a trace of the origin laws!"

This old man was one of the world lords attending this banquet and the emperor's true confidant, yet at this moment, his expression was grave.

Upon hearing this, the emperor's expression changed.

A genius illusionist who has also crossed the threshold of the origin laws? Does it have to be this outrageous?

A genius who can cross the threshold of the laws at the star level absolutely has the ability to compete for the top one thousand in the Ganwu Universe Country! Coupled with the identity of a genius illusionist, 'Illusion Dream' is definitely the kind of genius who can enter the core layer of the Virtual Universe Company!

To think Lu Yan'an would run into such a genius so early!

The smile on the emperor's face faded, and he said in a deep voice, "Have our people immediately broadcast Lu Yan'an's current situation and project the image onto the screen in front!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The old man bowed and immediately set about making arrangements.

The screen in the hall soon displayed the image.

Many of the nobles looked on with confused expressions.

The emperor looked around, his expression serious: "Right now, Lu Yan'an has encountered a formidable enemy in the world area that is difficult to deal with."

"But! Even if he is defeated and eliminated, it is not a failure of his own making; he remains a top-tier hero of our Black Dragon Mountain Empire! My lords, pray with me for him."

The thousands of people in the hall all withdrew their smiles, their gazes fixed on the giant screen.